Coffee consumption has been associated with lower risks of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even mortality according to various studies. However, new research demonstrates the value in restricting caffeine consumption to morning hours. Researchers found that those who consumed caffeinated or decaf coffee daily in the morning had a 16% reduced risk of premature mortality and 31% lower risk from cardiovascular disease compared with those who didn’t consume any. According to the study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, these results remained accurate after accounting for factors including sleep hours, age, race/ethnicity/sex as well as family income levels/education/physical activity levels/diet score.

Researchers analyzed health data from nearly 400,000 UK adults, such as self-reports on how many cups of coffee they consumed each week as well as information regarding heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events that occurred throughout their lifetimes. Researchers divided their subjects into seven groups, such as those who never consumed coffee; those who drank less than one cup daily; those consuming up to three cups daily; four to six cup consumers and those drinking over six cups every day. Each additional cup of coffee consumed daily was associated with a 2% reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, regardless of smoking status or genetic variant known as CYP1A2 that helps them metabolize caffeine, the researchers determined.

No matter if they drank coffee with or without sugar or caffeinated or decaf, nor if they preferred caffeinated or decaf. Researchers did find that women were at greater risk for cardiovascular disease than men; and those who drank caffeinated coffee enjoyed greater health benefits than those who didn’t drink caffeinated coffee.

“This study adds to a growing body of evidence showing coffee to be part of a healthy diet when consumed moderately, particularly as it may help prevent heart failure and stroke,” according to Dr. Nieca Goldberg, an independent cardiologist not involved with the research. However, its results should be taken with caution since observational studies do not demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships and it’s unknown if mortality reduction was due solely to coffee consumption versus other habits such as getting enough rest; but Goldberg says this finding should give hope in light of past concerns surrounding caffeine usage over time despite such concerns over time. Get more expert-backed advice by signing up now with The Results Are In! Sign up here